Chapter 13
It was later that Saturday.
Alicia worked at her desk and read some paperwork at the police station.
Hector walked up to her with the "Outlaw and Lawmen of Arizona" book and a file folder. He pulled up a chair and sat down next to her.
"I ran down John Mathers. He works as a driver that stocks vending machines. Are you ready for the bizarre part?"
Alicia got curious and dropped her paperwork. Hector laid the "Outlaws and Lawmen of Arizona" book and the folder on her desk. He opened up the book to a flagged page.
"Here's a picture of the Marshal of Oak Creek. His name was Clint Bartley," he said. "Does he look familiar?" he said.
Alicia looked at the page and saw an old black and white photo of Clint taken outside his office in Oak Creek. It was the same picture he showed Merijildo in eighteen eighty-three. "I don't believe it," she said while she stared at the picture.
Hector turned the pages of the book to another flagged page.
"Here's a picture of outlaws Bart Stone and Charlie Chandler took around eighteen eighty-two," Hector said.
Alicia looked at the page and saw an old black and white photo of Bart and Charlie taken in a saloon in Rattlesnake.
Hector reached in the folder and handed Alicia some color photos. These were pulled off the video taken from yesterday's first incident at the Wild Cactus Saloon.
"Here are some pictures from the saloon shooting. Notice how Bart had half of their right ear missing. Just like the picture in the book," he said.
Alicia looked at the book then at the pictures. She looked bewildered with all this information.
Hector turned to another flagged page in the book.
"And Elmer Filson was killed, September seventeenth, eighteen eighty-three, in a place called Oak Creek during a bank robbery of the Oak Creek National bank. The robbery was committed by Bart Stone, Charlie Chandler, and John Mathers, alias the Kissing Bandit," he said.
Hector turned the pages of the book to another flagged page.
"Here's that Apache tracker Bartley mentioned," he said.
"If this is the Indian in the hospital, I'm checking into the nuthouse," she said, not knowing what to think.
Hector nodded in agreement while she got up from her desk.
They walked away from her desk.
Twenty minutes later, over in a St. Joseph's Hospital room, Merijildo slept in the bed with his head and shoulder bandaged and left arm in a sling.
Mel slept in a nearby chair and planned on staying until his great grandfather was released.
The room door opened, and Alicia and Hector, with the "Outlaws and Lawmen of Arizona" book in hand, entered.
Mel woke up when they closed the door.
Alicia and Hector flashed their badges at Mel.
"I'm Detective Alicia Hernandez, and this is Detective Hector Carlson," she said.
"I'm Mel Lincoln."
Alicia walked over to Merijildo's bed. Hector opened the book, and he compared the picture in the book to Merijildo. They looked shocked at what they saw in the book and in the hospital bed.
"He's a spitting image of this Indian in this book," she said.
Mel got up curious and walked over to Alicia and Hector. He looked at the book and smiled. "He's my great grandfather," Mel said.
"In the book?" Hector asked and pointed at the picture.
"Yes, and in bed."
Alicia and Hector looked at each other in disbelief.
John walked out of another coin shop in Phoenix. He had a bag with gold and silver coins, which were the ones he stole.
He walked to his parked Corolla. He got inside it, started it up, and drove off down the street.
Alicia drove the unmarked car with Hector in the passenger seat. He looked at the pages of Clint, Bart, Charlie, and Merijildo.
"Every time I think about these people, time travel keeps popping up," Alicia said.
Hector thought about her comment then he remembered something. "You know, there was a story back in the fifties, about some guy claiming he went back in time through some cave called Crazy Hole. The authorities said he was delusional, and they locked him up in some mental ward," Hector said.
Alicia got curious about that book. "See if a Kissing Bandit is in that book."
Hector flipped through some pages. He stopped, looked surprised, and showed Alicia the page.
She looked and saw the picture of Bart, Charlie, and John in Rattlesnake.
Alicia reached down and opened up her folder. She opened it and removed Clint's wanted poster.
She compared it to the picture in the book.
She hummed the "Twilight Zone" TV show theme song.
Hector nodded in agreement with Alicia.
Back in the Devil's Cowboys house, Bear and Bart finished their beers on the back porch.
"Before we start your plan, I still have this matter of John Matters that I need to settle. He still has my loot from the last bank we robbed," Bart said.
"Where can we find this guy?" Bear asked.
Bart removed John's address from his jean jacket pocket, and he handed it to Bear. "Do you know that place?" Bart asked.
Bear read the paper. "Yeah, I know where it's located," Bear replied.
They walked back inside the house and went into the living room.
In the living room, Charlie and the rest of the Devil's Cowboys lounged around, ate pizza and drank beer. Candy, Melinda, and Sadie were earning tricks.
"Let's ride boys. We have to pay someone a visit," Bear told everybody.
Charlie and the Cowboys got up, and they all rushed to the front door.
Meanwhile, John drove his Corolla down the street, where his apartment complex was located.
He turned into the parking lot of his apartment complex.
He parked his car and turned off the engine. He was scared.
He reached over to the passenger floorboard and grabbed a duffel bag. The duffel bag was heavy as it contained all the gold and silver coins he bought back from the coin shops.
He got out of his car then he cautiously walked through the parking lot to the apartment buildings.
He cautiously walked through the complex and looked over his shoulder for Bart, Charlie, or Clint. The coast was clear.
He got to his second-floor apartment door. He made it safe and sound so far, and he unlocked his door. He slowly opened the door. He cautiously peeked inside, and the coast was still clear.
He entered his apartment and closed the door. He locked it and ran down the hallway.
John ran into his bedroom and rushed to his closet. He opened the bi-fold doors and removed a backpack and the cloth bag.
He removed his cowboy hat and the clothes he wore in 1883.
He shoved them in his backpack.
He removed some shirts and other jeans. He shoved them into his backpack.
From his bedroom window, the sound of the six Harleys of the Devil's Cowboys was heard. But John didn't feel those Harleys were a threat.
He rushed over to his dresser drawers. He opened up the top drawer. He removed a bunch of receipts from his pants pocket and dropped them in the drawer. He closed the drawer. He opened up another drawer and removed tee shirts, socks, and his tighty whitey underwear. He shoved them in his backpack and didn't zip it closed.
Then he heard the front door crash open.
In John's living room, Bart and Charlie slowly entered with their pistols drawn.
"Mathers! Where's our money?" Bart yelled from the living room.
In his bedroom, John stood frozen with fear. He looked at his window then he rushed over to it. He opened the window and threw his backpack out the window. They all plopped on the ground.
John climbed out of his bedroom window. He hung on the window, sill by his hands. He let go and fell to the ground and hit it with a thud.
He got up and grabbed his backpack then he limped away through his apartment complex.
In John's living room, Bart and Charlie rummaged through his computer desk drawer. Bart found the picture of them in Rattlesnake, and that made him madder since a friend betrayed him by stealing their loot. He tore the picture into four pieces and let them rain to the floor. Then he removed another piece of paper and saw John's "X" through Oak Creek and the other cities listed. Bart dropped that paper on the floor.
He looked at the computer. He didn't know what it was and looked intimidated by it, so he left it alone.
Charlie went into the kitchen while Bart went down the hallway.
Charlie rummaged through the kitchen cabinets. He dumped glasses, plates, silverware, and pots on the floor.
In the bedroom, Bart looked under John's bed.
He rummaged through John's closet and didn't find his loot.
Bart walked over and rummaged through John's dresser drawers. Bart saw a framed picture of Angie and John on top of the dresser. He grabbed the picture and looked at it.
Charlie entered the bedroom. "I didn't find our loot," he said while he walked up to Bart. Then he noticed the picture of Angie and John, and he got a horny grin.
"After we kill him, can I have my way with her?" Charlie asked.
Bart smashed the picture glass against the corner of the dresser. "Just like she's your wife!" he said.
Charlie got excited and did a goofy victory dance.
Bart had a strange hunch while he looked and saw the opened bedroom window. "He just skedaddled," Bart told Charlie.
Bart dropped the picture of John and Angie then they rushed out of the bedroom.
John ran through the parking lot and passed twenty feet from Bear, and the Devil's Cowboys waited for Bart and Charlie, and they didn't notice John.
John ran to his Corolla.
He opened the door and threw his backpack into his car.
He got inside and started it up.
He drove out of the parking lot and down the street.
Five minutes later, Bart and Charlie ran through the complex and to the parking lot. They ran up to Bear and the Devil's Cowboys.
"Did you see him?" Bart asked Bear.
"Nope," Bear said.
Bart looked around the area. "Tomorrow, we need to find out where Mather's girlfriend lives. He's probably with her," Bart said while he got on the back of Bear's Harley.
"As soon as we make some serious cash, we're getting you two your own Harleys," Bear said.
The Devil's Cowboys drove off through the parking lot and drove down the street.
John drove his Corolla at the Best Western in Apache Junction, and he parked at the far end of the parking lot. He grabbed his duffel bag and backpack and headed to the registration desk.
John went to the front desk and got a room for the night and used his credit card.
I hope they don't get too pissed. John thought to himself when this credit card bill doesn't get paid. He shoved his room key in his pocket.
He grabbed his backpack and duffel bag then rushed down the lobby.
John didn't realize that his backpack was upside down. One of his tighty whitey underwear dropped out of his backpack. Then another pair of tighty whitey underwear dropped out. Then another pair of underwear dropped out. Then another pair of underwear dropped out. There was a trail of tighty whiteys behind John in the lobby.
A cane tapped John on his shoulder. He freaked out and thought Bart and Charlie were found him. He immediately dropped his duffel bag and crouched down in the fetal position on the lobby floor. He covered his head, scared of being shot.
"I'm sorry! Please don't kill me!" John cried out and shook in fear.
Everybody in the lobby stopped and gawked at John, who stayed cowered on the floor.
John didn't hear any gunfire, so he looked up and saw an old Nun who hovered over him with a cane.
"Young man, you're leaving a Fruit of the Looms trail on the floor," she said, then picked up one of his underwear with the tip of her cane.
John saw his underwear while it dangled off the tip of her cane, and he blushed.
"Oh, thank you," John said, then stood up.
"It's a good thing you listened to your mother about keeping your boxers clean," the Nun said.
She walked away with her cane and chuckled.
People watched and snickered while John quickly picked up his underwear and shoved them in his backpack. He zipped it up, grabbed his duffel bag, and rushed down the lobby to the elevators.
John entered his hotel room and dropped the duffel bag and backpack on the floor. He took out his wallet from his back pocket and opened it up. He removed a picture of Angie and glanced at it. He hoped to see her one last time before he went forward with his life.
He walked over and lay on the bed and continued to glance at Angie's picture.
Bart and Charlie drank beer back at the Devil's Cowboys house.
Sadie, Candy, and Melinda rode up on Harley's to the house. The parked them and went inside the house. They operated in anther house located across town called The Devil's Playpen. Bear's seventy-year-old mother, an ex-prostitute, ran the house and lived in one of the bedrooms.
Charlie watched while Sadie, Candy, and Melinda gave Bear half of the money they earned while on their backs today. He gave them a kiss on the cheek, smacked them on their ass, and told them to get some rest.
Charlie watched the rear ends of the girls while they walked down the hallway, and he got another erection.
Bart and Bear stepped outside on the back porch to talk about tomorrow's plan to visit Angie.
Angie paced in her living room and was upset. She thought about the recent events with John and wondered how she should handle everything.
She walked over to her coffee table and grabbed her cell phone, and she made a call. "Mom, it's Angie," she said into her cell phone.
"Hi, baby. How are you doing?" she answered from the cell phone.
"So, ah," Angie replied.
"What's wrong?" her mother replied.
"I think I need a break from Phoenix. Can I come home for a week?" she asked.
"You know you don't have to ask. It's still your home," her mother replied.
"I'll be there in a couple of days. I'll fly to Philly. Can you pick me up at the airport?" she asked.
"Just let Dad or I know the flight number and time, and we'll be there," her mother replied.
"I will. I'll call you later. Love you, mom," Angie said, then disconnected the call.
Angie sat down on the couch, and her eyes welled up. She punched in another phone number on her cell phone.
"Richard," her boss answered her call.
"It's Angie. Listen, I hate to do this, but I going to resign my position effective immediately. I've been having some trouble with John, and I think it's time I move on with my life," Angie said.
"I terminated John yesterday if that makes things easier for you," Richard replied.
"No. I think I should head back to Philly for a while. I would like to take my week's vacation immediately, then I'll come back and spend two weeks helping you find my replacement," she said.
"I hate to lose you, Angie, as you're one of my best employees. So let's do this. Take your week vacation immediately. Peggy can cover. Then let's see if you still feel the same way when you get back," he replied.
Angie thought about his suggestion for a couple of seconds. "Okay," she said.
"Great. I'll see you in a week," Richard said then disconnected his end of the call.
Angie turned off her cell phone and laid it down on the coffee table. Her eyes welled up while she thought about how things have turned out with John.
Back at the Police Station, Clint lay in his jail cell bed and closed his eyes while he tried to fall asleep.
At home that night, Alicia drank a cup of hot green tea while she read the "Outlaws and Lawmen of Arizona" book.
She read the section on Marshal Clint Bartley, as there was something about him that still intrigued her. She started to like him and didn't feel he was a criminal. But then she read the part where Clint Bartley went missing while chasing after Bart Stone, Charlie Chandler, and the Kissing Bandit.
She had a hunch the reason he went missing.